Fagone’s AI Love Story Goes to Dey Street
In an exclusive submission, Jason Fagone (The Woman Who Smashed Codes) has sold North American rights to The Jessica Simulation: Love and Grief in the Age of Emotional Machines to Stuart Roberts at Dey Street Books. The deal was handled by Larry Weissman and Sascha Alper at Larry Weissman Literary. Dey Street said the book is “a love story about the first person to use a large language model to revive a spouse they’d lost,” and “a broader exploration of human-AI relationships” that promises to “change our understanding of the emotional power of AI while raising questions about what it means to be human.” A 2025 publication is planned.
Matt Holt Peels ‘The Onion’
Author, comedy writer, and The Onion founder Scott Dikkers has sold world rights to a memoir to Matthew Holt
at Matt Holt Books. Mark Gottlieb
at Trident Media Group brokered the deal. Holt said the book, The Unbelievable Onion Story, is a “laugh-out-loud funny origin story” that chronicles Dikkers’s pivotal role in the “inception, evolution, and success” of the groundbreaking satirical publication. The book is scheduled for a fall 2025 publication.
Yaghmaian and Beacon Find ‘Wholeness’
Joanna Green at Beacon Press has acquired world rights to Iranian American psychotherapist Atash Yaghmaian’s My Name Means Fire: My Journey from Dissociation to Wholeness. The deal was negotiated by Tom Miller at Liza Dawson Associates. Beacon said the book, set against the backdrop of the Iranian revolution, tells “the harrowing story of the author’s experiences growing up while dealing with tragic events and having dissociative identity disorder, before becoming a therapist herself in America.” The publisher added that the book also offers insight into healing from trauma. No pub date has been set.
Miyao’s ‘Dream’ Comes True at Dial
After an auction, Whitney Frick and Samantha Zukergood at the Dial Press have acquired North American rights to Dream Minding, by psychotherapist and Vogue contributor Annie Armstrong Miyao. Haley Heidemann at WME handled the deal. Dial said the book will offer “a key to decoding the unconscious symbols that appear to us at night, equipping us with the tools necessary to identify and acknowledge the truths our dreams reveal, putting us on a path to healthier, more grounded, rewarding lives during the day.” No pub date was announced.
Saga Snags McEwan’s Romantasy Duology
Amara Hoshijo at Saga Press (with Anthea Bariamis at S&S Australia and Charlotte Trumble at S&S U.K.) has acquired world rights A Forbidden Alchemy, by Australian BookTok sensation Stacey McEwan. Saga described it as the first book in a “fiery new romantasy duology set in a world of elemental magic.” Amy A. Collins at Talcott Notch Literary Agency brokered the two-book deal, which also includes the sequel, in an exclusive submission. McEwan is the author of bestselling Glacian Trilogy, and has amassed more than 350,000 followers on TikTok. Saga added that the duology will follow “Nina and Patrick, who meet in childhood—and eventually end up on opposite sides of a war.” A Forbidden Alchemy will publish in summer 2025.
Vintage Signs Gray’s Jane Austen Collab
In an exclusive submission, Anna Kaufman at Vintage has acquired world rights to author Claudia Gray’s continuation and completion of Jane Austen’s novel fragment The Watsons. Claudia Gray is the pseudonym of Amy Vincent, author of the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series. Laura Rennert at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency handled the deal. Rennert said the book tells the story of “a young woman, raised to privilege and fortune, who is sent back to her impoverished family, sharpening the conflict between the need to marry for money and the desire to marry for love.” Publication is scheduled for fall 2026.
